Mending Broken Bonds
by Skier Chick
Summary: What if Fang didn't follow Max when the Flock kicked her out? What if they never reunited? What happens when the Flock stumbles upon an object from their past? Max/OC Rated T just in case. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is set ten years after Max was kicked out. Everything will be explained later on, but basically, Fang is now the leader of the Flock.**

**Chapter 1**

Nudge's P.O.V.

"We have been flying for _hours!_ Can we _please_ take a break! I am _starving!_" I whined, giving Fang my best Bambi eyes.

"Fine, it's going to be dark soon anyways. Why don't we land in that clearing over there?" He answered after seeing my face. Fang nodded his head towards what looked like a small

clearing, but it was had to tell because of all the branches shielding it from view. The rest of the flock sighed in relief, and together we leaned forward into a slow dive.

I nearly collapsed as soon as my feet touched the soft grass that covered the clearing like a blanket. My wings ached and my legs were wobbly from not being used for the past, was

eight hours? The only thing that kept me conscious was the prospect of food. Finding a nice spot to settle down for the night, I set my pack down and searched it for any food that might

be hiding in its' depths. Finding nothing I looked around at the rest of the flock, praying that they had come up with something. Seeing that they hadn't, I fixed a pair of accusing eyes on

Fang.

"What?" He exclaimed, seeing me staring at him.

"What do you mean _"what"_?" I sneered, "We don't have any food, Fang. Whose fault is that?"

"Nudge I may be the leader, but it is not my responsibility to do everything." Fang retorted, clearly unhappy with my tone.

"Yes it is. Max would never have let us starve! She always made sure we were fed." Angel said, smirking at the way Fang winced at the mention of our former leader. Angel is

my best friend and little sister, but sometimes even I find her a little bit terrifying. Now is one of those times.

"Well, in that case, maybe you shouldn't have kicked her out of the Flock." Fang replied sourly.

"Hey! Everyone calm down!" Gazzy yelled. We all looked at him, eyebrows raised.

"Let's just focus on the problem at hand; none of us can change what we did ten years ago." Iggy stood up from where he had been lounging on the grass. I sighed, knowing he was

right.

"Yeah, Iggy's right, our main focus right now it to find food." Angel consented, shooting one last glare at Fang.

"I didn't see any towns around here; the only place that has a restaurant is a few miles away." Gazzy pointed out sullenly. Everyone groaned at the prospect of having to fly even

more. "I did see a house only half a mile east though. I was like a mansion! We could maybe break in and take some food and go. I doubt the owners would really care, as long as we

didn't do any damage." Gazzy continued timidly. I saw Iggy and Angel nod their heads, agreeing with this plan. I even caught myself giving a slight nod, even though I'm usually appalled

at the idea of stealing anything. Curse my tired aching body!

"Fine, we can do that, but the must be absolutely NO damage done to the house and the only thing we'll take is food." Fang decided. We left our packs in the clearing, and took to the

air.

"There it is!" Total exclaimed, pointing a paw in the direction of the most beautiful house I had ever laid eyes on. I wasn't too big, but still big enough to be considered a mansion in my

book. It was white with black shutters, there was a porch coming off the back, it was two stories but I bet there was also a basement. There was a dirt driveway that became paved

halfway to the house leading up to double garage doors. The lawn that surrounded the house was manicured and there was a swing set in the back and a basketball hoop in the

driveway.

We landed silently in the front yard after doing a quick check to make sure that all the lights were off. It was probably somewhere around midnight by now, so everyone was most likely

sound asleep in bed; something I wished I was doing.

"Okay, let's make this quick, and be a silent as possible." Fang said, looking pointedly at me.

"When am I ever not quiet?" I questioned, smiling sweetly up at him. I may be six feet now, but Fang still beat me by at least seven inches. Iggy walked up the steps to the front

door, took out his lock picking kit and set to work. Don't ask me how he knows where everything is, he just does. It took him eighteen seconds to open the door and reveal three choices

on which way to go. To our left was the dinning room, to our right was a small den and straight in front of us was a short hallway. I couldn't tell where the hallway led because it was too

dark, even for my wonderful vision.

We silently decided to see if the dinning room led to anywhere, and were rewarded when it opened up into the kitchen. Glancing around I saw that this was where the hallway lead,

along with a giant living room with what must've been a twenty foot Christmas tree. I glanced at the flock and realized that all of our faces wore looks of awe. I looked around some more

and saw a door leading to the porch and, past the tree, stairs leading upstairs. Looking up I saw a railing that ran along what must be one side of a hallway. Just as it was outside all the

walls were white. Looking around the kitchen itself I saw a state of the art stove along with wooded cabinets and granite countertops. The fridge itself was massive **(ooh, big word)** it

looked like it could hold enough food for the whole flock for a week!

Fang motioned towards the fridge, showing that we needed to get a move on. I sullenly agreed, wishing that we could stay here forever. I swiftly moved to the fridge and had my

hand on the handle before I noticed something that rooted me to the spot. I was unable to move until Fang came over to see what was wrong. Then I slowly removed a picture from the

fridge, the picture that had made me freeze. The rest of the flock came over to see what I was looking at.

In my hands I held a very old, very beat up picture of the flock. It was a picture that Jeb had taken of us years ago, when we first escaped from the school.

Everyone gasped. We all knew that there had only been one copy of this picture. We all knew who had it. Looking at it I couldn't help but remember our first real leader, our best

leader. The person who had taken care of all of us, the person who had been there for us through thick and thin; the only person who could (in my mind at least) possibly have this

picture and the leader we kicked out ten years ago. Looking at this picture I couldn't help but remember Max.

**A/N: I know the Christmas tree is kinda random, but I've been listening to a lot of Christmas songs lately so...I hope you liked it! R&R.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Yay! Thank you to everyone who reviewed! You guys are awesome. So, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

**

* * *

**

Angel's P.O.V.

I was staring at the picture just like the rest of the flock, except for the fact that I was also reading all their minds. Turns out we were all thinking basically the same thing. Everyone was in a state of shock; nobody could believe what we were seeing. The only possibly explanation was that Max was living _here._ In this _mansion!_ I couldn't even fathom the thought.

_"Wow! They all look so much older than they did last time I saw them, of course it was ten years ago."_ Holy! Where did that thought come from! It sounded just like Max, although maybe a little older but that was to be expected. Wait…that was Max! Where is she? She has to be around here somewhere, since she can see us.

I must've straightened when I heard her thoughts because the Flock gave me curious looks. I ignored them though, and continued trying to pinpoint where Max's thoughts had came from. I didn't bother looking around since it was so dark; plus, when Max doesn't want to be seen, she isn't. Everyone was still staring at me when I heard a voice coming from behind us.

"You could've knocked ya know, or rang the doorbell. I thought I taught you guys better than to steal!" We all wiped around and there, standing in the doorway a room I had missed before, was our old leader. Max grinned at us, while we all just stood there staring. All of our mouths were hanging open, even Fang's!

Max's P.O.V.

I just stood in the doorway to my bedroom, grinning as my ex-Flock just stared at me, gaping.

To my extreme surprise, Angel was the first to recover. Okay, so the "first to recover part" wasn't very surprising, considering she was the one who had kicked me out so that she could be the leader. What she did next though, was what surprised me. Angel ran up and smothered me in a hug!

"Max! I've missed you soooooooo much, and I'm so sorry that I kicked you out of the Flock! Please forgive me and be our leader again! Fang is horrible at it!" Halfway through her little speech I realized that she was sobbing. It broke my heart to see her like this, even if she had been the one to kick me out of my family.

"It's okay Angel, I forgive you." I consented, hugging her back. After a moment I looked up at the rest of the Flock, and motioned for them to come join us. So we ended up in one huge group hug, even Total joined in. When we broke apart I realized that I had tears on my cheeks too.

"I've been meaning to frame this." I said, taking the picture that Nudge had still been holding and putting it back on the fridge. "Oh and help yourselves to any food you can find." I added, while switching on the lights.

Iggy raided the fridge while everyone else sat down at the kitchen table. They were all smiling, well everyone except for Fang. I guess he hasn't changed that much over the past ten years; I laughed inwardly at the thought and heard Angel giggle. I raised an eyebrow at her and she just gave me an innocent look. I rolled my eyes in return.

"Hey Max," Gazzy started. I looked over at him and became worried right away, seeing the evil look on his face. "I didn't think it was possible for us bird kids to gain weight, and yet you're looking kinda….round." He quickly shut up when he saw my deluxe death glare.

"Are you calling me fat?" I asked incredulously, putting my hands on my hips.

"No! Of course not! I was merely pointing out the fact that you've gained a little weight in the past ten years." Gazzy said, trying to back himself up. I saw Nudge kick him under the table, hah, like anything could help him now!

_"Max, please don't kill him or anything! We all know that he doesn't have a filter." _Angel said, or rather thought, to me. I made the mistake of glancing over at her, she was giving me Bambi eyes and they were just as good as they had been before. I melted instantly. I melted instantly. _"Thank you!"_

"I was actually wondering about that too. Not that I would have ever pointed it out or anything, but seriously! It is _impossible_for me to gain weight, so how did you? I mean, of course I'm always flying and stuff so that burns a lot of calories. Have you been flying? 'Cause if you haven't then that would explain how you've gained weight. Maybe you should start flying more, or you could go on a diet. Ooh! I could be like you're personal trainer!" Nudge was about to go on, but Gazzy slapped his hand over her mouth. I gave him a "thank you" look.

"Glad to see you haven't changed too much Nudge." I told her. "Yes I have been flying, no I don't need a personal trainer, and me gaining weight is my business." I tried to answer all of her questions, but decided not to tell her my…secret.

"What secret!" Shoot! I forgot about the mind reader. Everyone looked at me curiously; even Iggy looked over from his spot in the kitchen.

"Fine, I'll tell you." Ah well, they would've found out soon enough anyway. "But first, Total, please get on the floor. I don't want dog hair all over my kitchen table."

"Awww! You always let me sit on a chair with the rest of you. Plus I don't shed!" Total complained. "Why do I have to be on the floor?"

"Well, if you stay on a chair, what will my dogs think?" I asked him.

"Who cares…wait; did you say your "_dogs"_?" Total tilted his head to the side, curious.

In reply I whistled. Suddenly my two puppies came running downstairs. I looked at my Flocks (God it felt good to be able to say that again) faces as they watched them come.

"This is Kyra. She is part Husky and part German Sheppard." I said, introducing the first one, she looked just like a German Sheppard but a lot smaller (which doesn't really make sense, but whatever). "And this is Maisy. She is part Black Lab, part Collie, and part Golden Retriever." I introduced the second one who is almost completely black except for some white specks on her paws and a white streak on her chest. She looks a lot like a Golden, and is the same size as Kyra.

"They are sooo cute!" Nudge and Angel exclaimed in unison. Everyone started petting my dogs, except for Iggy and Total (obviously).

"How old are they?" Gazzy asked.

"Almost two years." I told him, smiling.

"So…what's your big bad secret?" Iggy asked, once everything had calmed down. I didn't even bother glaring at him, deciding to save my glares for people who can see them.

"Well…" I never got to finish because at that moment I heard a faint crying coming from upstairs follow by a soft "Mommy". I looked at my Flocks questioning faces and sighed. My story would have to wait. "I'll be right back." I groaned before running up the stairs to the weeping child.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you liked it. Oh and I decided that I am not going to post another chapter until I get 5 reviews (at least). So please R&R!**

**Chapter 2**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:**** Sorry, I haven't updated in so long (well only a week). Thanks for all the reviews! Enjoy!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 3**

Fang's P.O.V.

We made our way over to the living room, while we were waiting for Max. I was still trying to wrap my head around everything. Apparently, Max owned a house (or should I say mansion?), and we had just broken into said house. That was all well and good, I've missed Max a ton ever since she left. After awhile of living without her though, I started to realize that I didn't love her as much I had thought. Of course I stilled love her, but now it was more like a brotherly love. If that makes any sense; either way, I guess it doesn't really matter anymore. As it turns out, it seems that Max now has a kid, and two dogs (but that's beside the point). Does that mean I'm an uncle?

_"You're talking about the kid now, right? 'Cause if you are, yes, it does; in a weird way. If you're talking about the dogs…I think we past an insane asylum yesterday."_ Apparently Angel felt like it was time to put her two cents in. _"Yep."_

"_Yes Angel, I was THINKING (you know, the thing people do when they don't want other people to hear their thoughts, it is not to be confused with talking) about kid, and if you ever try to admit me to an asylum I will…"_ I left the threat open, let her use her imagination. _"Now…GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"_

"_Pushy, pushy."_ Angel replied, but I felt her leave. Allowing me to think in peace, for now.

"Hey! Guys, come over hear and look at this!" Nudge exclaimed, making me jump. We all walked over to see what she was looking at now; even Total got up from where he had been lying with Maisy and Kyra to take a look, and Iggy made his way over from the kitchen. Nudge was standing at the bottom of the stairs, pointing excitedly at a photograph hanging on the wall.

I had to stare at it for a full minute before my brain finally took in what I was looking at. It was a picture of two people; that was the first thing I noticed. One of them was Max, all dolled up and gorgeous. The next thing I realized was that she was wearing a freaking WEDDING DRESS! It was white, with what I think are sequins, or something like that. Either way, it was stunning, and it fit her perfectly. As I kept staring, I saw that her hair was put up in such a way that it looked like waves, and it had some sparkly things in it, kinda like the dress. She also had those same things around her eyes, which made it look like she was crying, but her snow white smile told me she wasn't. Of course there's also the fact that Max never cries.

The second person in the picture was wearing a U.S. Air Force uniform, which made him look a bit ominous. That fact was taken away though when I saw the smile on his face, he looked just as happy as Max. He had a buzz cut, obviously, so it was hard to tell his hair color; I think it was a very light blond. He had stunning blue eyes, which looked as if they had seen more than any human should have to see. (Notice I said any _human_, not any_one_.)

"Is that…?" Iggy started.

"Is Max…?" Gazzy stared at the picture, wide eyed.

"Who would've thunk it?" Total, was the first to form a full sentence.

"She look's gorgeous." Angel and Nudge sighed simultaneously.

"So, who's the unlucky guy?" I asked, only half joking. "Whoever marries Max has to be ready to go through hell, and show no pain." I earned some harsh jabs in the gut from Angel and Nudge for that one.

"Hey! I'm not that bad!" Max replied, indignantly. I wiped around to see her coming down the stairs behind us. Holding a little girl on her hip.

"Uhhh, what's that?" Gazzy asked, pointing at the child.

"I'm Alea. I am four years old, and I am a "who", not a "what"." The little girl, answered for herself; sticking her tongue out at Gazzy.

"I can see where she gets her attitude from already." I chuckled, Max glowered at me. Alea had light blonde hair, and stunning blue eyes. Just like the guy in the picture behind me.

"Hi Alea! I'm Angel." Angel introduced her self, giving the girl a slight wave.

"Nudge"

"Gazzy"

"Iggy"

"Total"

"Fang" I introduced my self last, almost forgetting because usually when Total introduces himself that person is very surprised (sometimes they even have a heart attack, but that only happened once). Alea on the other hand, just kept on smiling, showing no surprise whatsoever.

"I know, mommy's told me about the Flock." She explained.

"Hey, Max, who's this?" Nudge changed the topic, gesturing at the man (groom?) in the picture we had been looking at. Max came down the rest of the stairs and looked at the picture, a small smile playing on her lips.

"That's Colonel Seth Williams, my husband." She answered simply. I swear Angel and Nudge almost fainted right there and then.

**

* * *

****A/N:**** Here's a quick description of Max's daughter and husband:**

**Husband: Colonel Seth Williams (U.S. Air Force), light blonde hair, blue eyes, very well built**

**Daughter: Alea Williams, 4 yrs. old, light curly blonde hair, blue eyes, skinny, pretty tall for a 4 year old, in last year of pre school**

**I hope you guys liked it! Any guesses as to what happens next? (Hint: I've been listening to "All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Miriah Carey a lot)**

**If I get 5 more reviews, you guys get the next chapter! (Hopefully that's a good thing! :) )**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Merry Cristmas everyone! I'm so excited, I finally got a laptop of my own! Sorry for such a long wait and short chapter, but don't worry! I'm working on the next one now.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Max's P.O.V.

I directed my eyes at my old family, as I heard them gasp. Angel and Nudge looked like they were about to faint. Gazzy and Iggy looked somewhere between shock, excitement, and hysterical laughter. Fang and Total looked, well, indifferent; as usual. I glance at the little girl I held in my arms, my beautiful, bouncing, baby girl, and my heart broke. She had tears streaming down hers cheeks, and her eyes were glued to the picture of her father and me. All of a sudden, she let out a huge sob and flung her arms around my neck.

"What's wrong?" Nudge asked, concerned at Alea's outburst. I could only shrug and hold my baby closer. Everyone was staring at her now; even Iggy, who looked extremely confused.

"I…want…my…Daddy." Alea answered between sobs. Angel and Nudge almost broke into tears right then and there, I don't know why though, they didn't really know why Alea was crying so much.

"Then why don't you go see him?" Iggy asked, confused.

"Where is he anyway?" Fang asked curiously.

"He's at work." Alea answered, sniffling.

"What! It's like, one in the morning!" Nudge exclaimed.

"Daddy's been at work for the past six months." Alea had recovered; another thing that proved she was mine. Neither of us cries, and if we do, it's not for long. I looked at the Flock, taking in their expressions. It wasn't hard to guess what they were thinking, and I hated them for it. They were all thinking that he had left (and by left I'm guessing they were thinking it was with another woman), and that I had lied to Alea. Telling her that her father was just at work, letting her believe he was coming back.

"You can't blame us for thinking that Max." Angel said allowed, confirming my suspicions. "Anyway, if we're wrong, why has he been at work for the past _six months_?" My Flock obviously didn't understand what came along with being in the military.

"His unit was deployed to Afghanistan. He is a soldier after all." I told them, gesturing to my wedding picture. "He's at work 24/7."

"Oh…" Angel trailed off, looking ashamed for jumping to conclusions.

"OMG! That is soooooooo horrible! How can anyone leave their family to go fight in some war!" Apparently Nudge wasn't at a loss for words.

"It's not like he chose to. It's part of his job." I answered a bit bitterly. I hated that part of his job; of course that was the biggest part of it.

"Do you hear from him at all?" Iggy asked cautiously.

"Once a week, at best; usually it's more like every other one." I answered with a glance at Alea. She was sound asleep now, her tear streaked face resting against my shoulder. "I'll be right back; I have to put Alea back in bed. Why don't you guys start eating? It looks like all the foods ready." It still amazed me at how fast Iggy could throw a feast together. They all nodded a headed over to the kitchen table, while I carried my baby back upstairs.

* * *

**A/N:** I hope you like it! Five reviews and you get the next chapter. :)


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry it took me soooo long to update! I have had so much homework and like ten projects! :P Enjoy! (Sorry I know it's kinda short and more of a filler than anything.)

* * *

**

**Chapter 4**

Max's P.O.V.

I don't know why, but as I was sitting at the kitchen table chatting with my Flock (God it felt so good to call them that again!), I felt guilty. It wasn't like I was lying to them or anything. I just wasn't telling them the whole truth. I left out the fact that I had a job, and that other secret. (I had to be careful about my thoughts with Angel around.) The big thing that I had lied about was Seth. I told them most of the truth. Actually I told them the whole truth, I just made it sound like everything was fine and Seth would be coming home soon. Again, that wasn't a lie. He was probably going to be back very soon, but it probably won't be in the way they assumed.

"What do you mean?" Angel asked me, tilting her head to the side like a dog.

"Angel, why can't you stay out of my head?" I glared at her. She just shrugged and waited for an answer.

"What do you want to know?" I asked her. Sure I was just stalling but…whatever.

"Let's start at the beginning. What job?" Angel asked, even though she knew I knew what she was talking about. (God, that's confusing.) I bet she was just trying to get everyone else interested, so I wouldn't be able to talk my way out of explaining.

"I have a job, that's all." I informed them in what I hoped was an "It's nothing" voice.

"What kind of job?" Apparently it didn't work. I trained them so well.

"A good one, nothing very important though." I'm so screwed!

"Uh huh." Iggy scoffed.

"Spill!" Nudge shrieked. I looked around and they were all staring at me now. Even Fang looked curious!

"It's not very important. Just a gig with sweet pay…for the government." I murmured the last part.

"Oh, okay…wait, WHAT?" Dam, so close.

"You work for the government?" Nudge asked, almost bouncing out of her chair with excitement.

"Yeah, it's just a little thing. I do some things every so often and get paid. No big deal." I shrugged.

"What kinda things?" Angel pressed on.

"Just gathering information and stuff." I took a sip of water from the glass sitting in front of me and tried to look bored.

"Like CIA?" Total asked from where he was laying in the living room with Maisy and Kyra.

"Ooooh! Are you a spy Max? 'Cause that would be _sooo_ cool! Of course it would be dangerous too, but you've always loved a good adrenaline rush. Although you do have a kid now so-" Thankfully Nudge was cut off by Iggy putting his hand over her mouth.

"Yeah, I guess I kinda am a spy. Although I prefer the term wet work artist." I stood up smiling sweetly down at them. "I'm going to bed now. I'll answer all of your questions in the morning. Oh, and you guys can pick any of the rooms upstairs. Other than the one to the right, it's Alea's; it says her name on it anyway though. There's a bathroom right next to it, and one down the hall too, on and one in the first bedroom to the left." With that I walked off to my room which was just outside of the kitchen near a second set of stairs leading up to the other side of the house.

I closed the door to my room and flopped down onto the bed, exhausted. I was still trying to get over the fact that my Flock was back; and I was praying that they don't know what a wet work artist is. While I'm praying I should really thank God for not letting them get too far in their questioning, and hopefully they'll forget some of their other questions by the time they wake up.

Once I got all settled in bed, I looked over at the picture on my nightstand. It was a picture of Seth, Alea and me, the day he got back from a tour in Iraq. The picture was taken nine months ago. He had been away for six months on that tour, and when he finally got home they told him he'd be going back in a mere three months!

I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep, even though I knew it was futile. I just couldn't get my baby girl's words out of my head. I remembered yesterday with such clarity that I know the memory will never fade. I had taken Alea to the mall to see Santa; she was practically

bouncing off the walls in her pretty little dress that makes her look like a doll (in my eyes at least). When it was her turn, she walked up, sat on Santa's lap and smiled while having her picture taken. Then he asked her what she wanted for Christmas and, with a sad look in her eyes, she turned to him and said, "I want my daddy to come home." After that she just hoped off his lap and walked off, leaving him speechless and me near tears.

Just thinking about it now, made tears silently slide down my cheeks. The one and only thing my precious little girl wanted was the one thing I couldn't give her. Her one Christmas wish was for her daddy to come home, but that would take a miracle.

I rolled over so that I was facing away from the picture and quietly cried myself to sleep. Me, the Great Maximum Ride, brought down to tears by a boy and a girl.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I promise I will update a.s.a.p. but I still want at least five reviews before I do. I hope that's not too demanding, I just want to know that people are enjoying this story. :)**


End file.
